Tag Archives: how to build LEGO

Some of the earliest LEGO sets were for buildings or some sort of structure, and to this day architecture forms a core part of the LEGO panoply. If you build an architecture project from a kit, you’ll see that they are highly engineered. In order to make a LEGO project look like something other than a concoction of random bricks made by some kids having fun (which is, of course, just fine), serious planning has to have happened.

Most of the LEGO books I’ve seen are pure idea books. If you wanted to build a project based on what you see in the books, you have to either have a huge collection of LEGO parts very well organized, or you have to be prepared to order several specific bricks that are called for in the books.

But that is the wrong way to play with LEGOs. The books demonstrate concepts, give you ideas, guide you to become a better LEGOer.

How does this work? Let me give you an example. Say you want to build a building with nice columns. There are many different kinds of columns out there in architecture land, and you can imagine that there are different ways to build each one, and which method you use depends, in turn, on the scale you are working on. Say you want to build columns that would go with a building that would work well with the assumption that the building will be used by minifigs (the small LEGO people that come with many kits). Finch gives you sixteen pages of ideas for columns, starting out with these two:

The wizzard behind the book, Alice Finch, is one of the top LEGO builders in the world, famous for her extensive renditions of Harry Potter’s world and other major projects (see below). This is a great book for the aspiring LEGO builder, and an excellent choice as a holiday gift for your LEGO-loving offspring.

Now in Kindle, Soon in Print:

Sometimes called the "fourth African ape," Sungudogo is not a Gorilla, not a Chimpanzee, not a Bonobo, and possibly not even real. Years ago, Sungudogo drew the interest of the world famous primatologist Dieter Phillips, who was funded by a secret society of "scholars and gentlemen" to launch an expedition to determine the veracity of this mysterious primate. Dieter never returned from that expedition, and as the years passed, the whole story drifted into obscurity. But the watchers were always watching, always waiting, for clues of the fate of this expedition. When new evidence came to light, the investigation was renewed into the outcome of Phillip's ill fated trek into the Rain Forest. Who better to follow Dieter Phillip's tracks than his former student, aided by an explorer and mercenary familiar with the area, assisted by two willing Congolese park guards?They were to learn things that went beyond their wildest imaginations, and they would discover secrets about Phillip's expedition, about the rift valley, about themselves, about humanity, that they would never be able to share but that would change their lives forever.